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Eye on Scams: Holiday gift exchange scams
LAFAYETTE, La. (KLFY) -- Scammers are inviting people to participate in "Secret Santa" gift exchanges over social media, promising you multiple gifts if you send them one.
Chris Babin, CEO of the Better Business Bureau of Acadiana, said they have no intention of sending you any gifts back.
"It's just scammers collecting gifts from a bunch of people and not actually sending them to anybody else," Babin said.
When participating in the exchange, you give your home address for them to ship your gifts, but this exposes you to identity theft.
"A lot of these may ask for personal information, including an address, which they say they need to send you your gift that you're going to receive," Babin said. "It could go beyond that- want to know your date of birth, your age range."
In another version of the gift exchange scam, they ask you to send a gift card instead, which Babin called "riskier" than gifts.
Not all gift exchanges are scams, though.
Here are some ways you can avoid gift exchange scams:
- Be alert for messages from strangers. Do not participate in any gift exchange unless you know and trust the person hosting the exchange.
- Never give away personal information. The exchange will require you to share your mailing address, which can expose you to identity theft and other scams.